Detroit Lions starters should go just one quarter in preseason opener vs. Bengals

ALLEN PARK -- Whether it's injuries or preseason game plans, Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz doesn't like to show his cards. He keeps his answers vague and impossible to pin down.

So when asked about how long his starters would play in tonight's preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Ford Field, the answer was classic Schwartz: "We'll see. I don't have any set number of plays or set quarter. It's a little bit loose, we'll play it by ear as we go."

So, that settles that.

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, who rarely has a problem speaking his mind, was a little more forthright. Saying that Schwartz makes all the final decisions, Cunningham said he doesn't think the coaching staff needs to see a lot from the starters.

"Not that much. You don't want to push it too hard, too fast," Cunningham said. "You see what's going on in the league. I really have to bite my tongue but you see some of the injuries that are happening. Players have a lot of pride and they're stressing themselves to do the right thing and you've got to be careful with that."

The Lions will likely be careful with receiver Calvin Johnson (ankle) and cornerback Aaron Berry (groin), who are game-time decisions.

While the coaches likely are leaning toward a brief appearance by the starters, the players themselves don't think they need much time, either. With three more preseason gamesafter tonight, they think about one quarter of action is all they will need to get the most out of this game.

"I expect about a quarter or so, maybe 20 snaps. The big thing for the linebackers is getting that chemistry down, getting that communication down and being able to play off one another," Levy said. "We're working it out, but we haven't had any live action yet so that will be big for us."

Even though it's "just" a preseason game, live action is live action.

"Everything changes. It can all go out the window when the bullets start flying, but I trust the guys," Levy said.

The Lions will start another "new" guy in the secondary. Second-year player Amari Spievey, who is starting at safety, doesn't look anything like the player he was last year.

"I pulled up the old depth charts, and last year he was listed as the fourth safety on the right side," Cunningham said. "Boy, he's come a long way. He's looking good, he's looking really good."

And Spievey is anxious to look good on the field.

"I want to tackle. I want to tackle and I want to cover some people to see how I feel and get some rust off," Spievey said. "Out here, we can't really hit anybody like I want to so I want to get out there and make some contact and work on my tackling."

While Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford might only play a quarter, the Bengals are expected to play rookie quarterback Andy Dalton for most of the first half.

Lions defensive end Cliff Avril said he's not real interested in who the Bengals play at quarterback.

"I don't necessarily care who is back there. For us, we have to beat the guy who's in front of us to get to that guy. If you get past your guy, you just smack the quarterback so it doesn't really matter who's back there."